Sweet Figurative Carved Folk Art Whimsy Spoon with Chain of Locks vintage Japanese tea caddy with the cutout at the

with the cutout at the left of each piece fitting one particular beak

A search reveals that Hunt was a stamp dealer

and when out arrived in the mail I was happier still--it is without an ounce of equivocation  that I declare it my very favorite cow ever

There is also an incised mark which appears to read 18

Sweet Figurative Carved Folk Art Whimsy Spoon with Chain of Locks vintage Japanese tea caddy with the cutout at theThe whimsy or loving spoons one most often sees are Welsh or Scandinavian and often highly refined; Im not entirely certain the national origins of this one, but its the folkiness of it manifested in the figure and lock shaped chain links that I love (I might guess American nodding to the Scandinavian manner of decoration on the bowl and handle, but am not entirely certain..) I presume it is an upside down strawberry carved into the spoon of the